Boston Children's Museum
300 Congress Street
Boston, MA

This was the final working Task Force meeting before the reports are finalized and released. Final editing suggestions were offered and staff incorporated changes on 27 February 2004. Specific areas of further discussion were in regard to:

Overall organization
· Executive Summary needs improvement (expand more on the recommendations and the justification; this section will get more press/attention than other sections); attach as appendix for easy public review
· Cross-reference Technical Report in Recommendations Report to ensure full use
· TOC- list what is in all sections of full report (i.e. include list from Technical Report)
· Distribution of three documents in March: 1) Executive Summary with Table of Contents listing components of both reports, 2) Recommendations Report, 3) Technical Report

Budgeting · CZM staff should check outside sections of Governor's 2005 Budget
· 166- waterway licensing process changes (docks, small-scale piers, non-commercial facilities, etc)
· 317- Natural Resource Damage Trust administered by EOEA (assessment, recovery, etc) ---implications for what OMTF is proposing with ocean management fund

Introduction
· Tables should fit to one page- no breaks
· Change language with "assets" in regard to the ocean- too much emphasis on the financial parallels between trustees (p. 13)
· Need language explaining that "we think staffing is priority and there will be budgeting implications to be addressed down the line…the state is already functioning on very limited means…we need to replace state agency eliminations that have occurred over the past few years"

PRINCIPLES
Principle 1
· Disagreement over the perceived relationship between Public Trust Doctrine and usage of "public trust" as a Task Force principle; will readers automatically associate "public trust" with the Public Trust Doctrine?
· D. O'Connor reiterated 25 February 2004 conference call from Principles Working Group on wording
· Debated modifier on "conservation"; some still wanted "necessary or appropriate conservation" instead of "balance with"
· Removing "public" from title will broaden principle in line with TF goals
· Decided to keep old title with public trust and new text

Principle 2
· Suggestion to add human needs to sustainable use like employment/livelihood; decided this was unnecessary

GOVERNANCE
· Delete all references to specific FTE's throughout entire report to avoid legislative obstacles, however, listing of potential funding sources may remain

Recommendation 1
· Add other agencies and spell out authorities

Recommendation 2
· Expand cooperative work with adjacent states

Recommendation 3
· Sen. O'Leary- the recommendation shouldn't be an endorsement of a project- especially without qualification of that endorsement (if remains unchanged, Sen. cannot be with the report)
· Justification for this section is unduly long compared to others asking for a new law
· Agreed that climate change is a problem, renewable energy helps mitigate this problem, appropriate locations allow to plan better for all activity
· Need to recognize that the ocean has renewable resources without necessarily supporting wind energy, (as a specific renewable production source), or Cape Wind, (as a specific project)
· Compromise change to- "such as wind, energy efficiency and tidal resources, at appropriate locations" (p.25)

Recommendation 4
· Need clarification of rules and procedures for permitting and licensing renewable energy projects in regulated waters (see public necessity test- is this self-explanatory?)

MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Recommendation 1
· With statement of occupation fees being artificially low, less of an emphasis should be placed on real estate group
· Fees on flowed tidelands vs other offshore and lease displacement occupation fees should all go to Ch. 91 account; first to pay for Ch. 91 activities
· Make clear that this is not a "raid" on the General Fund for EOEA (see language in current DEP budget for suggestions)
· Revised p. 29 to be circulated to TF members immediately

Recommendation 2
· Need to differentiate federally defined Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) from the TF proposed Special Marine Management Areas (SMMAs) · SMMAs include protection for certain activities including fisheries and other projects; should include Executive Order MPA definition for clarity
· Must clarify authority of Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and Coastal Zone Management (CZM) (concern that DMF would no longer retain authority to close areas for fisheries management purposes; need for consensus by both director of DMF and CZM before recommendation to EOEA regarding an area)
· TF was reminded that not everything is completely agreed upon by all TF members. This is a consensus document, and a statement in S. Tierney's memo will enable members to justify their participation to their constituencies
· MASS Port has concern that shipping will be restricted; management process and consensus should be on balancing of all uses and how the process would take place for each stakeholder (e.g. shipping industry)- focus description of process equally on management

Recommendation 3
· No major issues discussed.

Recommendation 4
· Should rely on the requirements for special environmental projects (p. 36)
· Change inter-tidal/sub-tidal to "marine" to avoid jurisdictional problems

Recommendation 5
· No major issues discussed.

Recommendation 6
· Move to "Scientific Understanding" section
· Is use of baseline for historic or current conditions?; make clear that historic levels aren't pre-man and that achieving this level again is not the TF's goal
· This adds additional layers of bureaucracy---but need to consider who will actually do the work to implement the recommendations
· T. Skinner mentioned that this recommendation was added to the management section to prevent the disconnect we often see between science and management
· Implementation- look for appropriate existing groups for advisory group to tap into, including Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute (DMF- UMASS campuses)
· Change "Potential Source of Funding through DMF grant (because of reimbursement process)

Recommendation 7
· Expand themes to other marine flora and fauna, not just "fisheries resources"

SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING
· No major issues discussed.

OUTREACH RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1
· No major issues discussed.

Recommendation 2
· Need to review material and scientific soundness before distribution to public
· Need to coordinate school materials with curriculum guidelines in order for teachers to use them